This is the first module in the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Project Suite curriculum. Activities are self-directed by students or student teams using online videos and data from the SDO satellite to explore, research and build knowledge about...(View More) features of the Sun. Students build vocabulary, apply or demonstrate learning through real world connections, and creating resources to use in their investigations. Each activity comes with both a teacher and student guide with sequential instructions and embedded links to the needed videos and internet resources. Activity 1A: Structure of the Earth's Star takes students through the features and function of the Sun's structures using online videos, completing a "Sun Primer" data sheet using information from the videos, and creating a 3D origami model of the Sun. Students use a KWL chart to track what they have learned. Activity 1B: Observing the Sun has students capture real solar images from SDO data to find and record sunspots and track their movement across the surface of the Sun. Activity 1C has students create a pin-hole camera to use in calculating the actual diameter of the Sun, and then calculate scales to create a Earth-Sun scale model. Students reflect on their learning and results at the end of the module. An internet connection and access to computers are needed to complete this module. See related and supplementary resources for link to full curriculum. The appendix includes an alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).(View Less)

This is the fourth and culminating module in the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Project Suite curriculum. Student teams use information and resources from the other three modules in the project suite to create a 3D interactive solar exhibit to...(View More) educate others about the Sun and how SDO informs scientists about the Sun's activity, structures and features, and Earth-Sun interactions. Students then self-evaluate their team's solar exhibit. Both a teacher and student guide are included, as well as tools for students to self-direct and track project process, and record reflections and information. A computer for student-teams and access to the internet are needed for this module. See related and supplementary resources for link to full curriculum. The appendix includes an alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).(View Less)

In this concluding activity, learners will use notes from an earlier lesson to write a nonfiction piece about Saturn or Cassini. These final projects provide a way for children with varying learning styles to consolidate and share their learning....(View More) This is lesson 12 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the Cassini Spacecraft. Learners will engage in basic problem-solving as they design and construct their own small model of a spacecraft. Through writing and illustration, students will document their work and will complete a...(View More) Design Review Summary. Like scientists and engineers, students will make presentations to show and explain their models and design summaries to their peers. This is lesson 5 of 10 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 1-2.(View Less)

This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will hear the NASA solutions to the problems they wrote about in an earlier lesson. They will then write a nonfiction piece comparing their spacecraft to Cassini, and share their writing with the...(View More) class. This introduction to design prepares students for the task of trying to design a working model of a probe to land on Saturn’s moon, Titan. This is lesson 7 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.(View Less)